Why You Should Reset Your Character During ARC Raiders’ Cold Snap Update

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The new Cold Snap update for ARC Raiders introduces a significant option: players can permanently reset their character’s progress. This effectively starts you over from level one, stripping away all earned items, currency, blueprints, skills, and workshop upgrades. While it’s a big step back, resetting offers exclusive rewards like increased storage and bonus skill points. It’s a substantial commitment, and players might hesitate before doing it, considering the time investment it takes to fully level up a character.

There are compelling reasons to consider resetting your character. While benefits like passive stat boosts are clear, the reset also enhances replayability and offers new ways to progress. It’s a tough choice, as losing even simple skills – especially those that improve movement and loot collection – can be annoying. But if you’re willing to overcome that initial hurdle, a character reset can significantly improve your overall game experience and give you fresh motivation to keep playing, beyond simply enjoying the core gameplay.

Permanent Bonuses

Everything From Stash Space To Skill Points

Image via Embark Studios

  • Additional stash space that carries over.
  • Five extra skill points maximum.

Okay, so I’ve been thinking about resetting my character, and honestly, the perks are pretty tempting. The biggest draw for me is getting extra skill points to start with. Basically, every million coins I’ve saved up translates to one free skill point – up to five total. That’s a nice little boost right off the bat! Plus, I get more stash space. Anyone who’s played for a while knows how much of a pain it is to manage loot, so even a few extra slots make a huge difference. It might not seem like a massive deal, but these perks are really helpful without being overpowered, making a reset feel totally worthwhile.

In addition to other benefits, players who reset their progress will receive a unique outfit, a hat called the Scrappy cap, and an icon to display their achievement. They’ll also get temporary boosts to repairs, experience points, and resource gathering, giving them a helpful advantage when starting over. While these perks are nice, the main draw for resetting is the rewards themselves. Experienced players will find the early levels less challenging, and once they reach max level again, they’ll be noticeably more powerful thanks to the bonuses.

A Fresh Start

Sending You Back To Square One

via Embark Studios
  • Complete inventory reset.
  • Encourages veterans to loot thoroughly again.

In games, resets let players begin again and rebuild their progress. However, the reset in ARC Raiders is quite significant – it wipes away almost everything players have earned, like items and in-game currency. This means players can’t immediately purchase or create powerful gear and will have to earn materials and money gradually. It also changes the gameplay experience, as players can’t depend on existing equipment and must start with basic loadouts and weaker weapons, at least initially after the reset.

Beyond losing items and currency, players will also lose any blueprints they’ve discovered during raids. Many believe this is the most significant change, drastically altering how future gameplay will unfold. High-reward areas will become crucial for obtaining valuable blueprints and the materials needed to craft items. For example, events like the Harvester, which weren’t worth repeating before due to duplicate blueprints, will likely become extremely popular. Even veteran players with hundreds of hours in ARC Raiders will prioritize rushing to these areas to collect loot or compete with others for it.

More Progression For Hardcore Players

A Reason To Keep On Grinding

Image via Embark Studios
  • Incentive to play in order to level back up.
  • Gives veterans a reason to keep on going.

ARC Raiders successfully achieves a rare feat among extraction shooters: it offers a gameplay and progression system that’s both easy for new players to pick up and rewarding for experienced ones. While players with limited time might not need to fully level up, those who’ve already reached the maximum level will find resetting their character adds a compelling new layer of gameplay beyond simply enjoying the experience.

Players now find more rewarding activities, like teaming up to defeat major threats, because they earn much more experience than simply fighting common enemies. The game is also more challenging than before the reset, and it’s easier to accept losing high-level gear since it can be quickly replaced. This increased risk actually makes finding loot more thrilling, and even gathering basic resources feels fresh and engaging again, just like when the game first launched.

Content Reset

Level One Benches For All

Image via Embark Studios
  • Quests reset to be replayed.
  • Workshop benches need to be reupgraded.

While players might not like losing their progress – items, abilities, and currency – resetting their character lets them experience the game’s story and challenges all over again. All quests become available once more, giving them clear goals and a richer narrative when exploring. Since many of these quests are enjoyable, being able to replay them and earn the rewards is a great reason to consider a reset.

The reset will also revert all workbenches to their basic tier, requiring players to gather essential materials like mushrooms and sentinel cores once again. This actually makes previously common items quite valuable. Many players often overlook resources found on the surface because they don’t seem useful, but now that those materials are needed for crafting, exploration feels more purposeful and rewarding. Players will be able to return to their base with useful items instead of just unwanted junk to sell.

New Skills

Maxing Out Those Other Trees

  • A chance to try out new skills.
  • Further progression down a specific route.

A frustrating part of playing ARC Raiders is that you can’t reset your skill tree. Players often invest points in a certain direction, then realize a different build would be better – but they’re stuck with their choices. This new expedition solves that problem by completely resetting the skill tree, letting players experiment with skills they previously ignored and unlock powerful abilities much earlier.

This update gives players more clarity when building their character’s skills, helping them focus on what’s truly effective and avoid wasted effort. It also opens up new possibilities – players can now explore previously ignored skill paths, fundamentally changing how they play the game. Ultimately, the skill reset is about giving players the freedom to customize their abilities and create a build they enjoy, instead of being limited by early choices.

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2025-12-18 13:06